the Bet- Demon from Japan 
pond by R.Takahashi
ripple interpreted by Greggsharp
metroanime@aol.com
http://members.aol.com/greggsharp/index.html
i don't own these char, i'm just borrowing them.
    1b: Here's Happosai
-----------------------------------------------
	Ranma had gotten a LOT better in the
years since Ukyou and Shampoo had joined him.
Now all three fourteen year olds sparred under 
the watchful eyes of Musk Warriors. They
always had three more stationed than the group
could handle.

	Ranma had been winning pit fights
and arena battles for three years now. His only
loss had seen Shampoo splashed with cursed
water. Now Shampoo spent most of her time
as a cat, unless she was cleaning the statues
or something else that required hands.

	Now the day had come all three
had dreaded. They were to fight one of the
better warriors, being considered adult for
purposes of the arena. To make it interesting,
all three were to take on Mint.

	If they failed, but did a good showing,
Happosai proclaimed that Ranma would receive
the "Kiss Of Jusenkyo" but no other punishment.
If they failed to put on a good performance, well,
Ukyou, Shampoo, AND Ranma would be passed
around the encampment, after Ranma had gotten
his Jusenkyo bath.

	This led to a number of shouted suggestions
and comments from the audience that all three tried to
ignore.

	Mint lasted about five minutes.
----------------------------------
	"It's not fair."

	"It's the Musk Dynasty, Ukyou. Fair does
not enter into anything."

	Ranma just stared at the wall, trembling
slightly.

	Shampoo sat next to Ranma, not sure what
to say, what to do. Hesitatingly, she reached out to
touch Ranma, who flinched at the contact.

	"Don't touch me." 

	"Ranma, it's okay."

	"Damn it. We fought. We fought well, and
we beat the damn guy. That ought to count for 
something."

	Shampoo looked to Ukyou and made
a shushing gesture. She turned back to Ranma
and noticed the tear tracks on the new girl's face.
So like her Ranma, and so different.

	"He...that monster." Ukyou's fists
were clenched. "Making it a choice of accepting
the curse or he'd..."

	"Rape you in the arena to make up
for the sport he missed in such a quick battle,"
whispered Ranma. "I...couldn't let him do that."

	Shampoo gathered the crying girl
into her arms for a hug. She wouldn't lie and
say everything was alright. They all knew
better.
--------------------------------------------------------
	It was one of the greatest tragedies
she'd ever heard of. Instead of heeding the little
boy, they'd argued over what he had said. In
other words, they'd done exactly what Happosai
had counted on.

	Cologne faced the brisk wind from
the mountains and thought carefully over the
consequences of what she was planning. If she
failed, her life would plunge into the depths of
her own greatest nightmare. If she succeeded,
odds are she'd be dead, but she would have
spoiled whatever twisted plan Happosai was
engaged in.

	It involved the boy. That much was
certain. Everyone else was just something to
manipulate the child with. Cologne wracked her
brain for the thousandth time in another vain
effort to determine what Happosai could be
planning.

	Happosai was evil in the most basic
senses of the word. He never did anything that
didn't profit him personally, and was morally
ambivelant. He felt honor was a meaningless
concept, and other people's lives were his to
do with as he pleased.

	She had observed the boy as he was
pushing the Wheel, and saw the boy become 
taller and stronger. Now it was often the young
man alone who pushed the Wheel, moving tons
of water daily through the system. She saw the
boy continue the same pace throughout the 
entire day, almost as if he were a force of nature.

	If she didn't know better, she'd have
thought he was related to her.

	Concealed, she'd heard the newest
rumors. Ranma had received the curse of the 
Spring Of Drowned Girl. Worse, she'd just found
out from the careless guard's speech that her
own Great Grand-daughter and some cook were held
in the same cell.

	The tunnel couldn't be formed using the
Breaking Point technique, as the vibrations would be
detected. There were other techniques, however, that
were less spectacular. Cologne used these and worked
on the tunnel that she'd been making for the past three
years. Soon, one way or the other, this stage of her 
life would be over.
------------------------------------------------------------
	Shampoo stiffened. This didn't sound at
all good. Ranma had been moved from the Wheel,
and was now to fight...his two cellmates.

	Ukyou and Shampoo stood at one side
of the arena, Ranma at the other. The barriers had
been put in place, and a very select crowd had been
let into the audience.

	"The stakes in this little game are simple."
Herb stood and looked down on the three. "With 
my father dead and Happosai off checking out 
something, I feel the need for...sport. I have here a
little potion from Happosai. It causes the drinker to
become the willing slave of the first person they
see, one of the most powerful love potions known
even to Happosai. The loser will be forced to drink."

	Ranma's eyes met those of Ukyou and
Shampoo. Happosai was gone. Time not to hold
anything back.
--------------------------------------------------
	Cologne had estimated the distance to
the cellblock quite well. One group after the other
of amazons vanished into the tunnel. One, who 
had apparently been fed a love potion, had been
forcibly restrained from notifying the guards.

	Forty five amazons, armed with the 
weapons of their former captors, wanted to die
in combat rather than live with the memories.
These accompanied Cologne.
----------------------------------------------------
	Shampoo rushed Ranma, who grabbed
and flipped the amazon, using his strength and
her momentum to send her up into the seats
overhead. Ukyou landed a moment later.

	Ranma jumped onto the wall and
began the climb up as archers fell past him.

	Herb had started out as amused.
Then when some of his guards had been left 
in untidy piles, realized that they were actually
trying to escape. Standing up, he was prepared
to use his chi to fry both of them when a better
solution occurred to him.

	Ranma finished climbing up to see
Herb sling the contents of a vial across both
of the women as they came closer. "NO!"

	Herb smirked and ordered the two
women to attack Ranma.

	"Shampoo...Ukyou..." Ranma 
grimaced as his two celmates turned towards
him, wiping the water out of their eyes. He'd
grown close to them over the past few years,
this was not something he had ever wanted to
face.

	Herb grinned as Shampoo and Ukyou
raised the spears they'd picked up from his guards.
The look on Ranma's face was a further intoxicant.
The grin faded as he realized that they'd turned 
back to him and struck out simultaneously.

	"Stupid prince, the potion only 
works if you DRINK it." Shampoo watched the
prince of the Musk fall, Ukyou moving in to
crush the prince's skull before some chi suicide
attack could be used. 

	"You're okay? It didn't work?" Ranma
felt relief shudder through him. "Thank goodness."

	"I don't feel any different," said Shampoo
with a shrug. "We ought to get going."

	"Neither do I," agreed Ukyou. "Though I
DO think I'll take that knife there."

	Ranma went on to check the corridor as
the two began looting bodies.

	"Shampoo?" Ukyou paused to make sure
that Ranma wasn't around.

	"The same, Ukyou."

	"I was afraid of that." Ukyou paused and 
stoppered the flask. There was still a little of the fluid
within the container.

	"Ukyou," Shampoo straightened up. "We
are in the mountains. Within the mountains are many
streams fed by snowmelt at this time of year."

	"Yes, Shampoo?"

	"I think that I am going to 'accidently' fall
into each and every one of them that we cross."

	"Sounds good. Think it'll help?"

	"If nothing else," Shampoo shook her head,
"if nothing else maybe I'll catch a cold. You watch me,
and I'll watch you, and maybe this stuff will wear off 
before we completely lose whatever dignity we might
still have."

	Ukyou couldn't help but agree.
----------------------------------------------
	Happosai was in Thailand, currently
adding another magical artifact to his arsenal. A
swarm of fighters, using that country's martial arts
were trying to bring him down.

	One got in a lucky blow when Happosai
was momentarily distracted. Happosai retaliated by
forming a blazing pillar of fire and sweeping it around
his enemies. As it was hellfire, two of the opponents
were in sufficient state of grace (somehow) to resist
the effects. 

	These two apparently also had enough sense
to lie still while Happosai walked past, his attention on
something far away.

	The slight discordance gnawed at his awareness
until Happosai realized what it was. He grinned. The game
was truly afoot now. Ranma had left the Musk Citadel, and
the next part of his plan was in motion.

	The friendship of his two disappointing pupils
would be ruined, and one would forever walk the path of
darkness, becoming his pupil in far more than mere martial
arts skills. 

	Happosai blasted the vault open, using chi
instead of demonic magic. The Eagle Scepter was his, as
if there could have been any doubt over such an 
eventuality. Flames erupted behind him as he left the
compound. Such fun this would be. He just had to visit
Nerima one more time, to prepare...
--------------------------------------------
	Ranma watched as his two friends left, a
little shakily, he thought.

	He felt bad about letting them go off
alone, especially when both appeared to be getting
ill. They'd also kept falling into what seemed to be
the coldest parts of the streams.

	They had been _very_ insistant. They
had to seperate here. After all, Ranma didn't want
to be trussed up in chains again, escaping one
form of slavery for another...

	Shampoo in cat form, riding Ukyou's
shoulder, finally made it out of sight.

	With a heavy heart, sure that he'd 
never see his friends again, Ranma started the
long and lonely path to Japan.
--------------------------------------------
	Hot water was produced at a small
smokeless fire, and Shampoo quickly got back
into her clothes.

	"First time I envied you that curse,"
Ukyou said, still leaning against what had once
been a residence in the amazon village.

	"It did not help as much as you 
would think," said Shampoo with a shudder.
"That was...scary."

	"You think you had it bad? Thanks
for digging your claws in back there, by the
way. When he leaned up against that ridge..."

	"Thank you for carrying me after
that one time that he did it..."

	Both women shook in rememberence.

	"Any idea how long this potion is
supposed to last?"

	"How in the world am I supposed to
know? I'm a cook, okonomiyaki my specialty, or
at least it was. Love potions are a completely 
different story."

	"So, Shampoo, you drank a love potion?"

	The two avoided shrieking, though Ukyou
was in the process of setting a new personal speed 
record before she lost her balance on the rubble and
took a sudden nap.

	"Grea...Cologne," Shampoo tried to will
her heartrate down to normal levels. "You're...here."

	"I go through all that trouble to break
you and the boy out, and there you go not even
using my route. That's gratitude for you." Cologne
sat back on one of the blocks that had been from
the Hall Of Elders. "Now what's this about a love
potion?"

	Shampoo explained that they hadn't
actually drank it, merely been splashed in the eyes,
and once they'd realized what had been done, had
turned to look at their friend rather than at the 
prince of the Musk.

	"So...is this boy your lover then?"

	"Not before that, we were all worked 
hard, and...Ranma doesn't have a clue about such
things for the most part. Despite being Jusenkyo
cursed to turn into a girl, he's just been so focussed
and so worn out, that I don't think he's ever even
considered it."

	"But you have." Cologne wasn't asking
a question.

	"Both of us have...discussed it. We both
cared deeply for him. He went through so much for
our sakes, and he's got this strong but gentle side
to him..."

	"You and this other girl have discussed
who would go after this boy? How civilized. And after
the potion?"

	"We seperated from him before either of
us lost control." Shampoo had the grace to blush.

	"Let me see the potion," Cologne waited
until Shampoo had retrieved it from Ukyou.

	"That's funny. There was only a little bit
of it in there before." Shampoo held the half-full
container out to Cologne, who merely inspected it
without taking it. "Well, put it away now. I'll have
to make a positive identification in Japan."

	"Japan?" Shampoo tried to suppress
the little shiver of excitement. "We're...going to
Ranma's homeland?"

	Cologne looked at Shampoo with the
air of a teacher facing a slow student. "Why
not, Shampoo? We can't remain here, now, can
we?" 
---------------------------------------
	"No, Master..." Soun Tendo fell 
backwards as little pieces of his back gate
continued to rain down in the yard.

	Happosai sniffed. "Corruption?
Ah, the sweet smell of greed. Someone here?
You!"

	The bush Nabiki was hiding behind
abruptly turned black and withered. Her camera
fell from nerveless fingers as she watched the
giant striding towards her.

	"Stand up," Happosai commanded.

	Nabiki screamed within the confines
of her skull, to run, to flee, to get out of the
area. Her body wasn't paying attention as it slowly
came to stand before Happosai.

	"Perhaps," Happosai said with an
unhealthy gleam in his eye. "The daughter may
well be a better disciple than the father."

	Soun broke in, groveling and whimpering.	

	Happosai turned his attention to the father.
"Fool, if you want to act like a little girl, be one!" A
cask of water was produced from nowhere and smashed
into Soun. A six year old girl was then wailing in a very
oversized brown gi.

	A baseball bat slammed into Happosai's
head, followed by a kick to his kneecap. His almost
always present smirk faded. A lesson needed to be
taught to these two. One was often consumed with
anger, the other with greed. Neither was repentant.
They could easily be reshaped by his powers.
-----------------------------------
	Notes on the Demon Happosai plotline.
Happosai is really mean and nasty, almost completely
evil. Not pathetic, evil. There's a difference.

	This Happosai never helped Miss Hinako.
This Happosai never got into firecrackers. He throws
fireballs, what does he need a firecracker for?

	The clues as to how Happosai can be 
stopped are all there. Yes, the individual who can
actually kill the demon is counted on the side of the
good guys. No, it is NOT Ranma.

	Yes, there's something Cologne knows
about the love potion she isn't saying. One thing
about it is that the effects should have already 
worn off. The power of suggestion is really 
something isn't it? She's not 100% sure that the
potion is what she thinks it is, and so is 
withholding judgement.

	So Ranma goes back to Tokyo, and
thence to Ota (or wherever the ward is that the
Saotome household is in), if Juuban Happosai
would set off youma alerts if the Senshi are around.
He then realizes that Tokyo's wards are pretty
big and he doesn't have a clear picture of what
he's looking for.

	Surviving amazons scattering, a dozen
coming with the surviving Elder (Cologne) to
check out this new "recruit." Some blame him for
the Musk attack, so all is not happy in amazon
land. There are about a hundred scattered at this
point in the story, not counting the statues.

	The Princess? The Cook? The Cleric?
The Financier? The Warrior? Who will Ranma end
up with, if anyone?

	The horrible fate of Nabiki and Akane.
Nabiki gets hit with "bimbo-itis" attacks that last
for an hour every time she sees her reflection. 
Akane, I'll leave up to the gentle reader. Two
suggestions (considering Happosai's tastes)
would have Akane either dealing with the problems
of a cup size of 100DDD or with a rash on her skin
wherever it is covered with clothing. Either fits
Happosai's ideas of revenge. Of course, all either
has to do to get out of it is sign a little contract.
Just to be sporting, Happi would add other releases
to free them from the curse. Joining a monastery
is also a likely cure.

	Some have remarked that the solution
to both the statue problem and the Happosai problem
are obvious. Good. Both are meant to be, as Happi
is trying for both goals. Yes, he wants to be stopped,
particularly that tiny corner of his mind that is not
possessed, but he's not going to make it easy.
Otherwise, he has accomplished his stated goals
and spread corruption and suffering. So for Happi
this is all a win-win situation.

	Soun turns into a little girl, physically and
mentally, when splashed with cold water. Hot water
reverses the change.

	Genma does not turn into a panda.

	Ryouga hasn't met Ranma YET. He will,
however. He does not gain a Jusenkyo curse, and
will become Ranma's rival due to something else
entirely.

	Kuno: not a threat. Mousse: dead, sorry.
Threats: they've got plenty, just from various things
and people being sent their way by Evil Happi. He
wants a good fight, after all, don't make it too easy.
He can always come to Nerima and kill a few people
just to remind the main cast that he's around...

	Oh well,  remember to look for the Notes &
Votes file in a little less than two weeks!
note, not on FFML, use Metroanime@aol.com if
you want to e-mail me.


Ja matta!
gregg